Archive for the 'Jurors Doing Justice' Category

This week a jury acquitted Reuben F. Hairston of being a felon in possession of a weapon that apparently spent only a couple of minutes in his car and without his knowledge. Jury finds man not guilty of weapons charge In April 2012, Hairston gave two men a ride, but the two men asked to […]

Watch the short video below to hear the story of Florida resident Ryan Wilson who was wrongly accused of being involved in a string of car and house fires. His jury took just four minutes to acquit him, but he had already been punished by being locked up for 10 months leading up to the […]

It appears that the case of Shaneen Allen, a Philadelphia woman arrested when she reportedly carried a firearm legally owned in Pennsylvania into New Jersey and was pulled over for a traffic violation, is headed toward trial. Ms. Allen is a mother of two who purchased a handgun for personal protection after being robbed twice. […]

A jury acquitted a Bozeman, Montana man of a charge of resisting arrest after nearly several hours of deliberation. Apparently, the behavior for which he was charged with resisting arrest consisted of “holding his hands down by his side”. Jury: Tertelgte not guilty of resisting arrest The Courtroom saga for a Manhattan man originally charged […]

What do you do when a child’s on fire? We saw children on fire. What, what do you do when a child’s on fire in a war that was a mistake? What do you do? Like write a letter? With these words from Father Michael Doyle, the award-winning documentary film by Anthony Giacchino entitled The […]

Former South Jersey firefighter Sam McGraw faced a 5-year prison sentence for victimless offenses related to defensively carrying a shotgun as he went outside to investigate suspicious activity that led him to fear for his family’s safety. Rather than burglars, the intruders turned out to be police Former Firefighter Acquitted After Mistaking Police for Burglars […]

A formerly incarcerated woman was acquitted last week of an offense that could have put her back in prison for up to fifteen years—registering to vote. After serving time for a victimless drug offense, Iowa resident Kelli Jo Griffin believed, based on what had previously been the state’s policy, that her voting eligibility would automatically […]

Good news AGAIN in San Diego, this time in the medical marijuana case of Dennis and Deborah Little, whose dire medical situation includes HIV/AIDS, cancer, arthritis, neuropathy, and more. Jurors found the Littles Not Guilty on charges of possession of marijuana for sale and of cultivation of marijuana. Click through for the transcript. (Note: audio […]

On March 17, 2003, the United States was on the brink of war with Iraq, using as an excuse the ominous specter of weapons of mass destruction that even the government would later admit did not exist. Believing they had exhausted all other remedies working within the system to prevent the mass destruction and atrocities […]

We have been following the case of Lockport, New York business owner David Mongielo for over a year now, who faces a possible jail sentence allegedly for violating a town sign ordinance with a sign whose message changed too frequently. Mongielo was initially convicted of sign ordinance violations by a judge, but another judge overturned […]

Who do you suppose would have gotten the benefit of the doubt—even given the total lack of any evidence of wrongdoing—had government officials been the ultimate judges instead of an independent jury? Jury Finds Woman Not Guilty of Assaulting Officer A Lancaster County jury found a 32-year-old woman not guilty of assaulting a Lincoln police […]

In less than 90 minutes, a Minnesota jury acquitted Andrew Henderson of filming police and an ambulance crew. When Henderson refused to identify himself to a sheriff’s deputy, the deputy confiscated his camera. While the camera was in police custody, the video footage that he expected to use as evidence in his defense mysteriously disappeared. […]

After just 45 minutes of deliberations, a jury today refused to ruin a teen’s life over his tasteless joke. North Attleboro High student found innocent in school threat trial Patrick Skrabec, who spent six days in jail over the Christmas holiday after his arrest, was found innocent of threatening to commit a crime and disturbing […]

Now that we all know that fugitive slaves themselves were not freed by juries, but rather those who helped rescue them and were subsequently charged under the Fugitive Slave Act, let’s delve into the actual rescue of Shadrach Minkins. The Fugitive Slave Act was a critical part of the Compromise of 1850, designed to maintain […]

Today is an important anniversary in the history of jury nullification. On this day in 1851, on a rainy Saturday morning, federal agents stalked and arrested alleged fugitive Shadrach Minkins, who was at the time working at the Cornhill Coffee House in Boston, Massachusetts. Minkins’ arrest came just a few months after passage of the […]